Jinchuuriki
by NeverMineToHold
Summary: Naruto's prison is a whole village... KakaNaru friendship


Title: "Jinchuuriki"

Status: OneShot

Fandom: Naruto

Characters/Pairing: Kakashi Hatake, Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Hinata Hyuuga

Disclaimer: Copyright Masashi Kishimoto; no copyright infringement intended.

Rating: T

Genre: friendship/family, AU

Warnings: unbeta'ed

Summary: Naruto's prison is a whole village...

Note: Based on the theme prompt "freedom in chains."

Jinchuuriki

Naruto felt the stares of the gathered ANBU between his shoulder blades. Three more steps, pushing himself away from Konoha's wall, and he would have literally crossed the line. He balled his hands into tight fists and felt the answering surge deep within the seal - and didn't move any further.

Naruto kept his eyes on the horizon. Feeling his pupils contract to slits, red bleeding into white, everything suddenly stood out in sharp relief: swaying branches full of leaves, birds in flight across the darkening sky, dust devils twirling on the road, and the glow of the setting sun.

The ANBU with the kuma-mask appeared beside him. He always smelt like wood, rich soil and fresh water; both his chakra aura and posture were free of hatred. Naruto got along with him fairly well, considering they were prisoner and jailer, but Kurama despised him, almost as much as the last Uchiha.

"Please, five more minutes?" Naruto asked in the sweet tone of a twelve-year-old who was not above pleading. "He promised me they would finish their mission by today."

The porcelain mask flashed white as the ANBU inclined his head in a sharp nod and vanished back into a nearby tree; the others were hidden on rooftops and behind the corners of buildings.

There was a short spike of chakra-fueled killing intent that made Naruto wince. Kuma's team-mates obviously didn't agree with letting him wait a little longer for Team 7. Not that Naruto could blame them. It must be pretty boring watching a boy 24/7/52, the only thrill being the expectation that said kid would some day snap.

'Why not kill them all?' Kurama's whisper rose unbidden from within Naruto's mindscape. 'Nothing and no one could stand in our way.'

'You know, I might have been tempted considering how they treat me, but you had to go and tell me how mum and dad died to protect the village. Sucks to be you.'

'Hmph. Sentiment.' Kurama stretched the word, tasting it, like something foreign on his tongue. 'Mortals, I will never understand you.'

'That might be for the best, don't you think? Besides, they will make Kakashi-nii pay if I act up in any way. I figure that includes going on a roaring rampage.'

Kurama snorted, tails swishing impatiently. 'With you helpless the village will be even more in danger in the future.'

Naruto bristled. 'Oi, I'm _not_ totally helpless.'

'Spamming kage-bunshin does hardly count. Besides, you learned that one by accident and much good will it do you. It's not as if anyone taught you even the most basic skills of a genin.'

'So you say. Wait -'

Naruto snapped back to attention, gone the weird out-of-focus state that came with talking to the bijuu sealed inside him, and concentrated on a gleaming streak that passed the horizon line. Using Kurama's keen sight, he spotted Kakashi and his team moving through the trees; their hitai-ate reflected the fading light.

"There they are!" Naruto whooped and pushed himself up from his slouch against the warm wood. "Oi!"

He waved and wasn't startled at all when Kakashi appeared right before him in a puff of smoke. A heavy hand landed on Naruto's head; gloved fingers tousled his hair. This simple gesture of affection and the smell of nin-ken, blood and metal was his most cherished thing, ever since escaping from the orphanage's 'tender care'.

He leant into the touch. "Okeari, Kakashi-nii!"

"Tadaima, Naruto-kun," Kakashi greeted him with a smile that crinkled his eye. It didn't last long though, since the jounin knew that ANBU overheard and watched everything. Kakashi had been one of them himself for years, after all, before he quit the service to care for his sensei's son. "Any trouble while I was gone?"

"The usual," Naruto answered with a careless shrug. Most villagers didn't dare hurt him, but they had other ways to show him how much they loved having him around. "I'm fine."

The gentle patting stopped and Naruto finally noticed the state of Kakashi's jounin uniform: both sleeves were torn and it looked as if a projectile had gone straight through the armor plates of his flak jacket; not to mention how pale and drawn he looked. Naruto inhaled deeply and was relieved when there was no trace of fresh blood. Still, Kakashi smelled different, not exactly sick, but like old sweat and exhaustion – plus sea water and fish.

"What happened to you?" Naruto stood on tiptoes to gently touch a bruise high on the jounin's cheekbone. "You look as if someone put you through the wringer."

Kakashi smiled, not bothered with being poked and prodded. He glanced back to his approaching students. "Not here. I'll tell you the details later."

"Sensei!" Sakura shouted, marching down the road at top speed. Hands on her hips she stopped before them; fuming. Despite that she looked drained too, just like Hinata and Sasuke, who followed close behind. "Don't rush off like that!"

Kakashi scratched the back of his head; clearly not sorry at all. "Suman."

"Th-there's no need to scream like that, Sakura-chan."

"Yo, teme!" Naruto gave Team 7 a bright grin. "Hello, Sakura. Hi, Hinata-chan."

Of course Sasuke ignored his greeting, too high and mighty to associate with a street urchin and Sakura's nose wrinkled in disgust, but Hinata turned a cute shade of red and started to fiddle around with her fingers.

"H-hello, Naruto-kun."

"Nee, Hinata-chan, what happened? Wasn't your mission supposed to be a simple bodyguard job?"

"I-it was, but then Zabuza Momochi - "

"Don't, Hinata-chan," Sakura interrupted her sharply. "He doesn't have any idea what is going on outside of the village and it's supposed to stay that way. Danzo-sama's orders."

Hinata slumped. "R-right. S-sorry, Naruto-kun."

She looked so miserable, Naruto would have loved to give her a friendly hug, but with his luck the ANBU would mistake it for an attack on the Hyuuga heiress. The Godaime had issued orders to kill him on the spot if Naruto ever dared to raise a hand against a clan member, or any Konoha-nin, really.

"Don't worry about it, Hinata-chan."

"Alright then," Kakashi said, breaking the sudden, awkward silence, "we need to make our report."

Sasuke and Sakura went without a word, leaving the road to jump and make their way over the rooftops, and Hinata followed after one last trembling smile. Naruto envied them. He couldn't even do as much and water or tree walking was totally out of the question,too.

"Ma, Naruto-kun, come to my apartment in an hour. I'll have ramen ready by then."

"Sure."

Naruto watched them go. The stares between his shoulder blades were still there and the sudden impulse to just run and see what lay beyond Konoha's walls was overwhelming, like an itch crawling down his spine. - He didn't move.

Maybe Naruto would leave, one day, and if he was really, _really_ lucky, he wouldn't be alone when he did.

'You won't be,' Kurama whispered, and it sounded like a promise.

The End

R&R

AN: Thank you everyone who followed my KakaNaru ficlets so far, and especially to all those who left a review! You are awesome! I just wanted to give you a quick heads up that I will be busy with other writing projects, probably until October, so updates will slow down or might even stop for a while.


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